Ireland’s Eurovision Forum: What Are Their Plans For 2018?

For the most successful nation in Eurovision history, Ireland certainly aren’t doing so well in recent years! The nation hasn’t qualified to the final since 2013, and sure enough, this has encouraged Ireland to actually think about how they can improve on their results and make their way back into the final.

The inaugural Eurovision Forum was held by the Irish Broadcaster RTÉ in order to gather knowledgeable and interested people together in order to discuss how Ireland can improve their performance in 2018 and beyond. Members from the Irish music and entertainment industries were invited to attend, as well as media and Eurovision fans. Irish Head of Delegation Michael Kealy began the discussions on their past efforts at Eurovision, as well as what he would like to see Ireland achieve in future years.

One of the myths about Ireland in Eurovision is that they don’t actually have the desire to win, and that myth began back in the 1990’s as the nation had won various contest, and in a row, which as you can imagine would be an honour, but an expensive one with hosting duties taken into consideration. With many years past since their last win, Michael Kealy confirms that Ireland is in it to win it, despite the myth stating otherwise. Their recent results haven’t been all that great, but it hasn’t been due to the lack of desire to win the contest.

What would happen if they did win? Well, just like many other nations across Europe, the money situation is a bit tight, however the broadcaster did confirm that upon a win, Ireland would be able to host the contest, although it may not be as extravagant compared to some of the previous shows.

So where to from here? Well, there seems to be no definite answer when it comes to how Ireland will be selecting their 2018. Some of the other nations are already on the search for their artists, composers or songs, but it’s still early days for Ireland – which is fair considering the contest is still many months away. Michael Kealy did state that he would like to secure a seasoned artist, and perhaps leave the door open when it comes to choosing the competing song. Saying that, it seems unlikely that the broadcaster will be choosing the national final route, but rather keeping the process internal to save on costs.

One of the issues acknowledged at the forum was that there wasn’t enough engagement with the music industry, and perhaps this was due to that myth that the broadcaster wasn’t taking the contest serious enough to enlist a successful artist and song package. Music Industry professionals at the conference disagreed that their past results were discouraging music professionals from engaging with the Eurovision process, but putting it down to the fact that the broadcaster never actually asked for their help. So it seems like there’s been some miscommunication along the way, however this might hopefully lead to more collaborations with the music industry. It was also pointed out that there hasn’t been enough time allocation to the selection process, as by the time certain artists are approached about participating, they might already be booked out for May.

Another issue discussed was the lack of promotion by the broadcaster, specifically in terms of having specialised social media accounts for Ireland in Eurovision. This is something that the broadcaster will take into consideration and perhaps take action on.

The broadcaster is hoping to make an announcement about its Eurovision selection well in advance, and earlier than it has been done in previous years, which would give the broadcaster a chance to really refine their song selections, provided the artist has been selected.

We want to know what you think of Ireland in Eurovision, and how you propose they approach Eurovision 2018 to secure themselves a spot in the final! Let’s continue the discussion in the comments below!